NIÑA ​ANINIAS

​Where should I start? Meatballs, as simple as it is, it's one of those dishes that I have a love-hate relationship with.

I tried to make meatballs possibly two times and both were not good ones. Consistency was good but the seasoning part is where I always make a mistake. Unfortunately, meatballs, like burger patties, you won't really know if you did the seasoning right, until it's cooked. I guess you can still salvaged it but for avid cooks like me, that's just masking the error. At the end of the day, it still means the seasoning was not done right.

This time around, I was able to do it right, well at least half way. I tell you why it was half way. I bought a ready-to-cook Italian sausage. Just because in Dubai, Italian ground sausage somehow is not easy to find. I had to improvised. That being said, it still means I had to play around with the seasoning because the Italian sausage that I got is already seasoned and I have to mix it with an unseasoned ground beef. So it was still a success, albeit half way.

Tip 1: This is exactly how my meaty meat sauce was done, without the meat since this has meatballsTip 2: If you have a sauce that your family particularly like, you can just add the meatballs part to up the anteTip 3: Get your kiddos involved. Sure there will be funny shapes, it won't be uniform but you and they will have fun.

Instruction for the meatballs:​1. Place bread pieces in a small bowl, add cold water and soak for at least 5 minutes then mashed with fork2. In large mixing bowl, add beef, pork sausage, parmegiano regiano, garlic, salt, pepper, sugar, egg and mashed bread. Mix until well combined.3. Form into 1 inch meatballs (about half a scoop of ice cream), but if you want big meatballs, oh please go big by all means!4. Dredge/roll meatballs in flour, dust off excess flour5. Heat a large skillet over medium heat with 3-4 tablespoons olive oil.6. Add meatballs in batches without crowding the pan. Saute until brown on all sides (turn every minute). Don't worry about not cooking the them through, it will be cooked fully when it's added to the sauce.7. Set aside

At this point, if you followed the size of my meatballs, it should actually be cooked through by this time. The one you should worry about are your kids stealing them before you are able to make the sauce.

Instruction for the sauce:1. In the same pan, saute onion and capsicum in butter and oil, until onion is tender, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and saute 30 more seconds.3. Add tomato paste, sauce and stewed tomatoes, seasonings and water.4. Simmer for 15 minutes. 5. Add the meatballs6. ​Simmer for another 15 minutes.

I have to confess, because I made small meatballs, I did not add them all into the sauce (thinking I will make more sauce later on). The problem with that was, my kids ate the ones not in the sauce when I went to work. Apparently, according to my nanny, they ate it with rice and were even fighting over it.

Tip 1: I love panchetta and I usually add them to any dish that calls for bacon, or just to up the ante for any stir fry veggieTip 2: Please only use the real deal parmigiano reggiano. I will not recommend using a substitute or the powdered in a bottle one. I have made a mistake of buying one before, never again.Tip 3: Have everything ready. Mis-en-place you all! I might be an organised chaos lady but I usually have my ingredients arranged according to its order of use.Tip 4: Cut the ingredients in half if there's only 4 of you. We're only 5 but my Jason eats for 3. No lying, he ate 3 plateful of this for dinner and even had the left over for lunch the next day.

Instructions:Cook pasta as per package instructions. Drain and reserve a cup of pasta water.

In a medium size bowl, whisk eggs. Once done, add grated Parmegiano and combine with fork.

Slowly add a tablespoon of pasta water into the egg and cheese mixture, one at a time. 2-3 tablespoons is a good ratio to bring the temperature up. This is to temper the egg and ensure it does not cook as scrambled egg later on.

In a frying pan, fry your bacon and panchetta on its own fat. If you only have bacon, just double the amount and you are good to go. Once it's brown, depending on how cook you like your bacon bits. Fish it out of the pan and set aside.

Use the fat in the pan to fry the minced garlic. Once it becomes fragrant, add pasta.

Switch the flame off and move the pan to the unused stove top. You will finish cooking your carbonara using the residual heat. This will also ensure your egg does not get scrambled.

Slowly add the egg mixture and quickly toss pasta and egg continuously until pasta is well coated.

Add more pasta water to achieve the sauce consistency you prefer.

Add the bacon and panchetta bits, pepper and a little bit of salt. I use my Himalayan salt to complete this dish, not too much though because panchetta is salty enough. Serve hot!

I love burgers... who doesn't right? I'll eat any priced burger, from MickeyD's to gourmet... I love 'em. I mean yes, MickeyD's tastes like a monotonous cardboard paper but i still eat them as if it's the yummiest food of all and it's the end of the world tomorrow. Don't be fooled though. I actually have a pretty good palate but there is something so addictive (at least to me) about junk food. Not sure if it's the french fries that comes with every meal that makes me come back at least once a month (I'm trying to be modest here... gimme a break!). Or, it's my kids' once a month treat to a happy meal (again, this is me finding an excuse for MickeyD's trip).As you know, I'm also a huge fan of Shake Shack and their witchcraft brews. Dining there is an indulgence I really must have every so often.So you see, burgers is somewhat an addiction. I should probably come up with a group... I'm sure I'm not the only one.

I swear I've eaten burgers from different places, from the cheapest (talk about Burger Machine! that's to anyone who knows about it), to the random food chains that has response time like a 911 call to the really expensive ones and I mean expensive. I feel like, in addition to my quest to find the best joints for beef carpaccio... the hunt for the juicy burgers in town is piggy-backing on my carpaccio journey.

It's also just in the last five years that I began to understand that burgers or beef are best served medium rare (or if you can stomach it, rare!) The science behind the overheating of these precious jewels make muscles constrict, thereby makes them tougher. Oh boohoo! I won't bore you with the theoretical background of parts and cooking methods... let's go back to the essence of this whole musing, Burger at its best.

Well, fine, I'm sure I can still outdo myself... knowing my appetite for beating my own record. But for now, this recipe will give you a layer after layer of taste that is simply comforting without that big hoo-ha and sweat and not to mention the gajillions of ingredients that comfort mood normally requires.

So here it goes... get your pen and paper, boys and girls ... I can see you're not moving... yes... you can do that too... saving this page into your favourites for easy browsing.. of course that's a much better option,,, you tech-savvy-you!

Tip 1: If you want a full blown beef patty, of course be my guest. I made it a mix beef and pork just because pork sustains more moisture ... but if you don't want a hybrid, all beef patty is obviously another way to go.Tip 2: Do not be cheese-happy. I got carried away the second time around that I think I added more cheese than what's required. It taste awesome but of course it was a pain cleaning the grill (not that I was the one who cleaned it up :) )Ingredients for patties:1 cup of cheddar cheese, shredded2 tablespoons Parmegiano Regiano, grated1 medium onion, minced1 eggs2 tablespoons ketchup2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce1 teaspoon salt1/4 teaspoon pepper1/2 kilo beef, minced1/2 kilo pork, mincedAdditional Ingredients for assembling12 Kraft Singles cheese12 bacon slices3 buffalo tomatoes, slicedLettuce leaves Sauteed mushroom slices (optional)12 burger buns

I have to warn you, the procedure is so complex that you're gonna need to be uber smart like me to make it... like seriously...

Procedure:For Grill, pre-heat it to high heat.For Pan fried, pre-heat it to high heat.See at how difficult it is? :PIn a large bowl, mix all the ingredients for patties. I know right, really difficult.Anywho. Let's go back. Using an ice cream scooper or a huge spoon, equally divide around 12 portions. With your hands, form a ball then flatten them to make a decent thickness of patty. Place patties on the grill or fry them in the pan. Cook for 5 minutes per side if you want it well done or less if you're like me. On the last few seconds of cooking on the other side of the patty, place a slice of cheese to melt. Take it off and rest patties on the side. If you're using a grill then, cook your bacon alongside your patties. Obviously it cooks quicker than the patty so take off as soon as you got your preferred doneness or crispiness.Heat your bun on the same grill. Then yes, take it off after a few seconds, otherwise it'll be burn baby burn and you don't want that.To assemble:Again, very hard.Carefully spread mayonnaise on each side... oh don't listen to me... slather them up! Squirt a little tomato ketchup on the top bun, yes I did say squirt. It's more fun than spreading.Place 2 slices of tomatoes on the bottom bun. Top it with your uber mouth watering patty with melted cheese on top. Place two bacon halves. Add lettuce leaves and few sauteed mushroom. For the grand finale, place the top bun, tomato ketchup side down and voila!

A delectable creation that will tantalize your taste buds. I like to serve it with mustard on the side and because I'm a glutton, I also like olives, artichokes, sundried tomatoes on the side... or chips... or crisps... or cornicorns... or, fine! anything on the side will do, utensils, chinaware, anything!Eat this with a fizzy drink like a soda or an ice cold beer and I tell you... it'll be your go-to comfort food from time to time.And if you have extras? keep them in a freezer in a sealed container... grill it next time.

There are days when I get really lazy in the kitchen. Tonight is one of those days and boy I'm glad I was lazy... I wouldn't have gone creative otherwise.Easy peasy recipe.Ingredients:1/2 cup soy sauce1/2 cup sherry1/2 cup brown sugar1 tablespoon honey1/2 teaspoon cinnamon powder1/2 teaspoon ground or freshly cracked black pepperDirections:Smile! You just won an amazeballs recipe :P

Simple really... baking pan + aluminum foil (so you don't really have a war fight when you wash it) and the ingredients. Voila!

Cover with another foil to seal steam. Bake in the oven for one hour and a half hour, flipping them on the other side half way through the baking time. Grill press until it gets nicely charred. Baste using caramelised sauce in the pan. If there's no grill available, take off the foil covering and bake for another 10 minutes.Serve with hot sauce and extra sauce on the side

I made my first Hot Bun half a year ago and though I was proud of the recipe I discovered, I'm still on the lookout for a recipe that will make my face smile with just pure glee. I did, with this second version.The first version was good, the flavour is reminscent of the hot buns I grew up with. However, this new one that I ventured into incorporated the old flavour while including other flavours that takes hot buns onto a different level. There is a depth of flavour that is more of a grown up version of the ones I used to enjoy.I think the most important reason why I enjoyed making this second version more than the previous one is because I matured as a baker. Also, this recipe broke the complication down to simple and almost to point of being commonsensical. Those light bulb moments when you're doing something and your finally understood the reason behind why you're doing certain things in a particular way and realized that recipes are basic guidelines, you really don't have to follow it to the tee.

I'd like to think that this recipe is my coming-of-age recipe, because the following recipes I've taken on after this one, have somehow got deconstructed in my head. A method in reality that takes a lot of deep understanding of how the flavours should play about and complement each other even if the ingredients were prepared differently. I know I sounded uber geeky but it is what it is.It will be an understatement to say that this recipe belongs to my fave list.

Tip 1: Don't be scared by the process... it's surprisingly easy! Start with the dough coz you actually leave it alone for 4 hours! While the dough is puffing up, you can easily do your sauce and filling with no pressure. You can actually make the filling and sauce the day before and keep it in the fridge! How convenient is that?Tip 2: You can knead your dough with gloves... but where's the fun in it? I kneaded it with bare hands, of course I washed my hands really well first... then I slathered them with Crisco... yes, Minny Jackson's fave Crisco... fun!Tip 3: To help your dough in its rising stage, keep the dough in your oven (switched off!) with a bowl of hot water next to it. You'd be surprise how the bugger loves it.Tip 4:If you don't have a lard, any oil will do.Tip 5: Play around with the filling. It can be vegetarian, it can be chicken, beef, whatever you want it to be. The secret is the filling's seasoning, sauce and dough.

There is a Mexican version of Menudo which is a soup containing beef stomach.This version is the stew version made from a whole other ingredients which would have been heavily influence by the Spaniards. Our Menudo is best eaten with steamed rice or bread to soak the sauce, like pan de sal, ciabatta, or whatever bread you fancy. Ingredients:1 kilo pork loin, cut into small pieces250 grams pork liver, cut into small pieces1 cup potatoes, diced1 cup carrots, diced1 cup red capsicum or bell pepper1/3 cup soy sauce1/3 cup lemon juice1 onion, minced3 garlic cloves, minced2 tsp brown sugar2 cups tomato sauce1 cup water1/8 cup cooking oilServes 8Procedure:To add depth to your menudo and to ensure your pork is tender, marinade the meat with soy sauce and lemon juice for one hour.In a big sauce pan, heat the oil and fry potatoes and carrots until half cooked. Approximately 5 minutes or so. Fish out the potatoes and carrots and set them aside.On the same pan, saute the garlic and onion. Add pork and water, then simmer for about 10 to 15 minutes, until the pork is tender.Add liver, tomato sauce, half cooked carrots and potatoes, bell pepper, brown sugar and simmer for further 5 to 8 minutes. If you prefer, at this stage, you can add, raisins, green peas or chick peas (garbanzos).Voila! Your very own tasty Menudo. Happy Eating!!!-AcousticChef.... cookin' one tune at a time!

I tried this one night and I loved the concept behind it,,, but sad to say, I'm not bowled over by the whole thing. I guess it came out the way it should but it's just not that usual dish that my palette is accustomed to. It looked very appetizing, there is a wow factor when you serve it. The cream colour of the sauce, the brown of the pork and the green of the peas, it's a beautiful combination. I eneded up with a pasta with such a strong character. Flavours were killing each other to the finish line. Deeply flavoured pork and pungent Pecorino Romano might be too much for my delicate buds. This is very, very, very Italian and I'm pretty much Asian where everything should either be sweet or greasy :P Maybe this is how it's supposed to taste but it's just not working for me like the other Italian dishes I'm so in love with.I'm stubborn so I'll do this again but with Pancetta, easy and more subtle than the original version.Anywho, here is the recipe. Tip 1: If you have no patience, don't attempt the pork belly part, just buy ready made pancetta

This is one easy concoction that is absolutely fantastic with a toasted bread or bread stick or garlic bruschetta. Great for appetizer that doesn't need so much prepping.Tip 1:If you like pancetta instead of bacon, your choice.Tip 2: Important part of my Philly Steak Sandwich

Ingredients:8 good quality streaky bacon, diced2 punnets of mixed mushroom (i.e. oyster, portabello, button mushroom3 ounce butter1 small red onion, chopped1 clove garlic, mincedHeat 1 ounce butter into the pan and sweat onions and garlic for a few minutes. Add the bacon and cook for a few more minutes then add the mushrooms together with the remaining butter.Season, turn the heat right down and cook for 10-15 minutes. If the mixture starts getting dry, add a little lemon juice. Serves 4375 Calories per serving*More photos will be posted when I remember to take pictures of it! Excuse my senile moments

Back home we only have BBQ the grill version. We also marinate in a sauce concoction. This time I've decided to get out of my comfort zone and use a totally different way of cooking ribs, in the oven, dry rub, broiler pan, broiler, BBQ sauce and still have the same result,,, finger lickin ribs!Tip 1: If you don't have a broiler pan, improvise! I did. I used my all metal wok, fill it with apple juice, used french fries oven pan as the top portion and voila, instant broiler pan!Tip 2: You can use as little or as much BBQ sauce as you want. You can even omit it if you are happy with the dry rub flavour.Tip 3: Be as messy as you want.Tip 4: Because this dish doesn't have lots of active time, take it as the perfect opportunity to prepare your side dish(es)Tip 5: Dry rub will last for months so make as much as you want and keep it for your next BBQ

Total time: 24 hours marinate2 1/2 hours roasting time10 minutes or so broiling timeINGREDIENTSDry Rub1/2 cup brown sugar1/4 cup sweet spanish paprika1 tablespoon black pepper1 tablespoon salt1 tablespoon garlic and herb powder (or just plain garlic powder will do)1 teaspoon cayenne1 kilo pork ribs4 cups apple juicefavourite bbq sauceUsing dry rub, marinate the ribs overnight.Pre-heat your oven at 300 degrees Fahrenheit.Fill the bottom section of the broiler pan with apple juice while you lay out your ribs on the top section.Enclosed the whole broiler using aluminum foil. This ensures the ribs gets all the gloriousness of the apple juice steam. This helps the ribs cook without losing flavour.Roast the ribs for 1 1/2 hour.Take it out and slather your favourite BBQ sauce on each rib before covering it once more with tin foil and putting it back to the oven for another hour.Take your ribs out of your broiler pan and place it on a shallow baking pan. Place it under oven broiler to caramelised the sauce. Cook it until it's charred the way you prefer it to be.Serve immediately with rice, chips, wedge, mash... serve it with whatever side dish you want! Enjoy getting your fingers all sticky and messy.

Embutido is one of the Spanish recipe remnants that we have obviously modified as years gone by.Seems like there are so many meaning to the word "embutido" but nothing close to what it is for us. Some said sausage (yes, in it!), some said it's because it's wrapped in pig skin, well, definitely not this one... we only use aluminum foil. I can already hear my mom, banana leaf is what you need!All I know is this is prepared for special occassions. Mostly because of the number of ingredients you need to come up with a log, it's a lot :)Tip 1: Trust your instinct when it comes to salt and pepper. I made a mistake with mine, I was a bit too cautious. It's no biggie because it's minor but prevention is better than remedy.Tip 2: If you can't find sweet pickle relish, try "sweet spiced pickled sliced cucumber". You can find it in all Choitrams. Just mince it really, really small.Tip 3: Open one roll right after steaming, I say, enjoy the freshly cooked one as soon as possible.This took me an hour and a half... I think I'm close to the markINGREDIENTS:2 pounds ground pork (chicken if you prefer)30 halved pieces of vienna sausage8 hard boiled eggs, quartered1/2 cup sweet pickle relish1/2 cup tomato sauce2 raw eggs2 cups cheddar cheese, grated1 cup red bell pepper, minced (red capsicum)1 cup green bell pepper, minced (green capsicum)1 cup raisins1 cup carrots, minced1 cup onion, mincedsalt and pepper2 cups bread crumbs (4 slices of white bread torn to pieces or processed in food processor)Makes 10 generous rollMix together ground pork, bread crumbs and raw eggs. Then put in carrots, bell peppers, onion, pickle relish and cheddar cheese. After mixing, add the raisins, tomato sauce, salt and pepper and make sure everything is mixed well.Spread and flatten meat mixture onto a foil, approximately 5x9 inches.Place a sliced vienna sausage with the quartered eggs alternately in the middle of the meat. (Check photo for more guidance)Roll the foil to form a log and to lock sausage and egg in the middle. Place the roll in a steamer and steam for 1 hour.Store unopened roll in the freezer for later consumption.You can serve this fried hot or sliced cold with tomato ketchup on the side or sweet chili sauce.